Uptake of electronic prescribing in community-based practices

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Medical Practice Management
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Electronic prescribing (e-prescribing) offers potential for safer and more efficient medication management.
• Limited adoption of e-prescribing in community settings has been observed.
• A program funded e-prescribing systems for targeted clinicians and practices in Massachusetts starting April 2004.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the adoption and uptake patterns of e-prescribing among targeted prescribers.
• To analyze the impact of clinician characteristics on e-prescribing rates.

Main Methods:

• Collected data on all e-prescriptions from April 2004 to March 2005.
• Tabulated clinician usage and prescription numbers.
• Analyzed insurance claims data to determine the proportion of electronic prescriptions per clinician.
• Utilized multivariable models to assess factors influencing e-prescribing uptake.

Main Results:

• 1,217 prescribers initiated e-prescribing within the first year.
• Over 55,000 e-prescriptions were issued monthly by the study's end.
• The proportion of electronically prescribed medications slowly increased, remaining below 30% overall but reaching 42% for acute indications.
• Younger clinicians, pediatricians, and those in larger practices demonstrated higher proportional e-prescribing rates.

Conclusions:

• Clinician adoption of e-prescribing increased consistently during the initiative's first year.
• Overall e-prescribing uptake was partial, with demographic and practice factors influencing adoption.
• Further research is needed to understand adoption barriers and promote wider e-prescribing implementation.